On 2018-11-13 11:11 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > On 11/12/2018 08:51 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: >> >> IFF DEC used a commercial font, then it should be possible to find it. >> >> But, it is extremely likely that they did NOT use a commercial font, >> and either had their graphics art people draw the characters as >> needed, or used reference patterns of their own that are NOT >> incorporated into a computer font. >> Were these DEC "fonts" fully formed, or a very fine bit pattern? >> > Well, how DID they make panels? I'm guessing that in the beginning, it > was all done manually with photo/optical technology, the same stuff they > used to make boards. Also, used to screen print part numbers on sheet > metal, power supply parts, etc. So, they may have gotten pre-made > letters on some kind of carrier sheet, and transferred them to a mylar > sheet, and then photographically reproduced that onto a master > phototool, which was then used to make the silk screen. This would be > all standard technology to anybody making PC boards in the 1960's - 1970's.
Screenprinting. The production of the mask would have been done roughly as I outlined: Camera ready ("mechanical") paste-up artwork, exposed via process camera to a negative, and from then on the process is standard contact exposures (vacuum frame, etching, etc). > > While DEC got big enough to do this all in house or have one of the > providers in this area make it for them, they also might have just > picked a font they liked from somebody's catalog. A LOT of advertising > signage and all sorts of graphics arts stuff was done by hand with > photographic technology at that time. Bishop Graphics comes to mind as Yes, dry transfer is a possibility. But so is piecework phototypesetting. > a provider of transferable lettering and of course, DIP component > patterns and such. > > I suspect that they didn't get into any digital graphics technology > until at least the later DEC-10 systems, so mid 1970's. --Toby > > Jon >